| Written by Paula I. Bryant |
| 07:46 am 10/19/11 |
In a show of unity, the Halifax County Board of Supervisors, Halifax Town Council and South Boston Town Council adopted a very simple resolution Monday night jointly stating they “resolve to keep the ban on uranium mining until it can be proven that uranium mining can be done safely.” The action came during the joint meeting of the three governing bodies who each unanimously supported Virginia Beach’s position to oppose lifting the moratorium on uranium mining until it can be demonstrated that downstream waters will be protected.
Virginia Uranium Inc. has proposed a uranium mining and milling operation at the Coles Hill deposit near Sheva in Pittsylvania County, and the Virginia General Assembly is set to debate lifting the 30-year moratorium in its upcoming session.
In 1982, Virginia established a ban on uranium mining after geologists discovered deposits of the radioactive metal throughout the state.
At the heart of opponents’ concerns are the on-site storage of “tailings,” the remnants of uranium mining, which can be washed downstream in the event of a mill tailing confinement cell failure due to direct impact on mining facilities by a catastrophic storm event, according to a study for the Banister River Watershed.
Adoption of the resolution followed lengthy discussion and a 25-minute PowerPoint presentation on Virginia Beach’s uranium mining impact study.
Read more:
http://www.gazettevirginian.com/index.php/news/34-news/4218-governing-bodies-adopt-joint-resolution-on-uranium-mining
